Surf board safety towing device

ABSTRACT

The surf board safety towing device of this invention includes the combination of an inverted substantially J-shaped towing mast having a multiplicity of loops projecting therefrom, a tow line having one of its terminal ends suitably fastened to the mast and threaded through the loops on the mast, the mast being upstandingly mounted on the aft end of a motor driven water craft, a towed couple portion mounted distally forward of the transverse centerline of a surf board, with respect to the forward and aft end, the towed couple portion including a cylindrical body portion including an upstanding sidewall and a top wall, a frictionally engageable shaft portion being engageable with the body portion from the lowermost, water engaging portion of the board, the shaft portion including an eyelet operable to provide means to which one of the terminal ends of the tow line may be fastened.

United States Patent 1191 Brown 1111 3,802,374 '1451 Apr. 9, 1974 SURFBOARD SAFETY TOWING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Donald Brown, 218 E. Curling Dr.,

Boise, Idaho 83705 1221 Filed: Dec. 20, 1971 1211 Appl, No.1 209,722

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,380,425 4/1968 Wilson 114/235 ws 3,178,127 4/1965 Andersen 114/235 ws 3,326,175 6/1967 Baker 114/235 WS Primary Examiner-George E. A. Halvosa Assistant Examiner-Edward R. Kazenske Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John. W. Kraft [571 ABSTRACT The surf board safety towing device of this invention includes the combination of an inverted substantially J-shaped towing mast having a multiplicity of loops projecting therefrom, a tow line having one of its terminal ends suitably fastened to the mast and threaded through the loops on the mast, the mast being upstandingly mounted on the aft end of a motor driven water craft, a towed couple portion mounted distally forward of the transverse centerline of a surf board, with respect to the forward and aft end, the towed couple portion including a cylindrical body portion including an upstanding sidewall and a top wall, a frictionally engageable shaft portion being engageable with the body portion from the lowermost, water engaging portion of the board, the shaft portion includ ing an eyelet operable to provide means to which one of the terminal ends of the tow line may be fastened.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED R 9 I974 SW11 2 0f 3 Fla DONALD BROWN mvzsmoa PATENTEBAPR 9l974 3,802,374

' .SHEET30F3 DONALD BROWN INVHNTOR.

SURF BOARD SAFETY TOWING DEVICE FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to surf board towing devices and more particularly to surf board towing devices including means releaseable in response to change in equilibrium and position of a surf board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Surfing has become a popular sport among persons residing near ocean coastlines. However, it is difficult to practice the art of the sport in inland lakes or seas since the sport generally requires ground swells normally found along ocean coastal areas.

A person practicing the sport and commonly referred to as a surfer attempts to balance himself standing at a right angle to the direction of travel of the board while attempting to ride the crest of an incoming wave or breaker. The surfer tends to position himself on the board with his legs spread apart with his rearward most leg distally forward of the transverse center of the board between forward and aftends thereof. In this position he may control the pitch of the board as well as its direction of travel by merely shifting his body weight.

A variety of tow means disposed and interconnecting a surf board, of the type commonly known in the art, motor driven water craft or motor boats have variously been made commercially'available in the prior art. However, the tow means has usually been connected terminal ends suitably fastened to the mast and threaded through the loops on the mast, the mast being upstandingly mounted on the aft end of a motor driven water craft, a towed couple portion mounted distally forward of the transverse centerline of a surf board, with respect to the forward and aft end, the towed couple portion including a cylindrical body portion including an upstanding sidewall and a top wall, a frietionally engageable shaft portion being engageable with the body portion from the lowermost, water engaging portion of the board, the shaft portion including an eyelet operable to provide means to which one of the terminal ends of the tow line may be fastened.

near the bow portion of the surf board. In so doing, the

surf board tends to react as a water sled, and the surfer is prevented from controlling the pitch of the surf board. Hence, the normal conditions of surfing can not be simulated with such means. It is significant to point out that if such tow means were disposed rectilinearly further rearwardly they would provide an ultrahazardous vehicle without the equilibrium of a surfer because a freely towed board of this type tends to rotate as a propeller or to revolve about the axis of the towing connector on the board thus imperiling the lift and limb'of a surfer falling therefrom.

Accordingly, it is an extremely important object of the present invention to provide means operable to release a towed surf board not having a surfer positioned thereon to provide equilibrium therefor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a towing assembly on a motor driven water craft to tow a surf board in a manner to simulate surfing conditions.

A further object of this invention is to provide towing apparatus and surf board coupling means operable to afford selected control and equilibrium of the board to the surfing rider, and means automatically releasing the board in motion when a surfer is not on the surf board.

These and other objects shall become apparent from the description following, it being understood that modifications may be made without affecting the teachings of the invention here set out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, the surf board safety towing device of this invention includes the combination of an inverted substantially J-shaped towing mast having a multiplicity of loops projecting therefrom, a tow line having one of its A more thorough and comprehensive understanding may be had from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a commonly known motor boat including a surf board mast towing portion of the invention and a tow line interconnecting the surf board safety towed portion of the present invention mounted in a commonly known surf board and showing a surfer in broken lins and a portion of the surf board in borken lines beneath the water surface for illustrative purposes.

FIG. 2 is a top left perspective view drawn to a larger scale of a commonly known surf board having the surf board safety towed portion of this mounted therein.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side elevational view drawn to a larger scale of the surf board safety towing portion of the invention taken substantially along the lines 33 of the FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side elevational view of the body portion of the surf board safety towed portion taken substantially along the lines 44 of the FIG. 3 with the piston-like towing shaft removed for illustrative purposes.

FIG. 5 is a bottom left perspective view of the body portion of the surf board showing to advantage the O- ring seated in a recess within the shaft cylinder portion of the body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to the FIG. 1 the surf board safety towed couple portion generally identified by the numeral 10 is generally shown mounted in a surf board 11 distally forward of the rectiliner centerline of the board 11. In practice it has been found to advantage to locate the towed couple portion 10 thusly in order to simulate surf wave crest conditions when the board 11 is towed by a motor boat 12 having the towing mast assembly 13 of this invention and a tow line 14 substantially as shown. In practicing the art of surfing, a surfer 15, shown in broken lines for illustrative purposes, attempts to maintain the board at an angle less than 30 and at a substantial distance beyond the aft end of the boat 12 beyond the wake created by the boat 12 travelling through the water. Should the surfer l5 lose his equilibrium, the extreme hazard of injury to himself by the board 11 is likely since the board tends 'to be articulated upon the axis of the towed couple portion 10 when pulled by the boat 12 without the weight of the surfer 15 on the board 11 to maintain its equilibrium through the water.

The surf board safety towed couple portion tends to release the board 11 in the manner hereinafter later described, when the board 11 is at 90 more or less to the line 14. The orientation of the board 11 may change sufficiently to cause the couple portion 10 to release for a variety of reasons; the most typical cause for release being dismounting of the surfer from the port 11. For example, if the surfer 15 falls from the rearwardmost terminal end of board 11, the board 11 is caused to heel up approaching a sufficient angle to cause release by the couple portion 10. if the surfer 15 should be dismounted from the sides, typically the board 11 will tend to heel perpendicularly causing the coupled portion 10 to release.

It may be seen that the coupled portion may be mounted at various angles in the lowermost terminal side of the board 11 to cause the piston 26 to release at corresponding orientations.

The surf board towing mast assembly 13 of this invention includes a substantially inverted J-shaped rigid upstanding mast portion 16 suitably fastened to the aft end of the boat 12 and is provided with a multiplicity of outwardly projecting eyelet loop portions 17 through which the tow line 14 passes. Hence, the tow line 14 is held by the mast portion 16 and the loop portion 17 at a preselected angle to the water and to the towing device 10 on the surf board 11. One of the terminal ends of the tow line 14 is suitably connected to the towed portion 10 and the opposite end may be connected to the mast portion 16 or to a windless 18 mounted on the mast portion 16.

Referring now to the FIG. 2 drawn to a larger scale the surf board towed couple portion 10 is shown mounted in a commonly known s urf board 11. The FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 advantageously show the towed couple portion 10 including a substantially cylindrical body portion 19 having an upstanding sidewall 20 and a top wall 21 suitably fastened in the surf board 11 and a piston-like shaft portion 22 frictionly engageable in the body portion 19. The shaft portion 22 engages the body portion 19 from the lowermost water engaging side of the surf board 11. In practice it has been found to advantage to provide a reinforcing ring 23 at the entranceway of the wall 20 because the forces upon the wall 20 tend to be otherwise broken away since the shaft portion 22 tends to be pulled out at an angle. The body portion 19 is provided with a recess portion 24 disposed distally from the inner lowermost terminal edge of the wall 20. A resilient O-ring 25 is carried in the recess 24. The shaft portion 22 includes a substantially solid frictional piston 26 and an eyelet 27 operable to secure the tow line 14. A recess portion 28 is provided on the shaft portion 22 distally above the eyelet 27 and is operable to engage the O-ring 25 when the piston 26 is frictionally seated in the body portion 19 substantially as shown in the FIG. 3. A rectilinear venting hole 29 is provided in the piston 26 and extends from one terminal end thereof to the opening in the eyelet 27. In practice the hole permits ambient air to be drawn into the chamber formed by the walls 20 and 21 of the body portion 19 to release the piston 26 from the vacuum tending to be formed when the frictionally seated piston 26 is withdrawn from the chamber of the body portion 19. Hence, the amount of pressure holding the piston 26 in the chamber may be preselectively determined by the size or diameter of the venting hole 29.

Having thus described in detail a preferred apparatus which embodies the concepts and principles of the invention and which accomplishes the various objects, purposes and aims thereof, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changes could be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. Hence, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only to the extent indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A surf board safety towing device having a towed couple portion mounted in a surf board and on the longitudinal axis to a point equal distance from the forward and aft ends of said surf board, said towed couple portion comprising a cylindrical body portion having an upstanding sidewall and a top wall, a frictionally engageable shaft portion being engageable with said body portion, said shaft portion including an eyelet at one of the terminal ends thereof, said body portion being upstandingly mounted in said surf board so that said eyelet of said shaft portion is normally downwardly projecting from the lowermost, water engaging side of said board.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shaft portion includes a venting hole extending from one of the terminal ends thereof to said eyelet.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a tow line having one of its terminal ends suitably fastened to said eyelet of said shaft portion, an upstanding substantially inverted J-shaped towing mast mounted on the aft end of a motor driven water craft, said towing mast including a multiplicity of outwardly projecting loops, said tow line being carried in said loops and having the terminal end of said tow line opposite said eyelet of said shaft portion suitably fastened to said mast.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 including a windless mounted on said mast, said tow line being suitably fastened to said windless at one of its terminal ends. 

1. A surf board safety towing device having a towed couple portion mounted in a surf board and on the longitudinal axis at a point equal distance from the forwArd and aft ends of said surf board, said towed couple portion comprising a cylindrical body portion having an upstanding sidewall and a top wall, a frictionally engageable shaft portion being engageable with said body portion, said shaft portion including an eyelet at one of the terminal ends thereof, said body portion being upstandingly mounted in said surf board so that said eyelet of said shaft portion is normally downwardly projecting from the lowermost, water engaging side of said board.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shaft portion includes a venting hole extending from one of the terminal ends thereof to said eyelet.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a tow line having one of its terminal ends suitably fastened to said eyelet of said shaft portion, an upstanding substantially inverted J-shaped towing mast mounted on the aft end of a motor driven water craft, said towing mast including a multiplicity of outwardly projecting loops, said tow line being carried in said loops and having the terminal end of said tow line opposite said eyelet of said shaft portion suitably fastened to said mast.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 including a windless mounted on said mast, said tow line being suitably fastened to said windless at one of its terminal ends. 